What is a Christian? What separates Christianity from other faiths; what is Christian orthodoxy; what is heresy?
It is important that we know what doctrines are essential to the Christian faith. There is a lot of in-fighting on secondary issues--too much, in fact. In my personal observation, Christians fight bitterly over non-essential beliefs. At the same time, too many Christians either intentionally depart from orthodoxy, or are simply ignorant as to what Christianity actually is.
I think it is important that we clearly define the essentials, lest we get to the point where Christianity can be defined any way we please. That seems to be the case already for many people. Here are the essentials of Christianity as I see it. Some will say I've left some things out; others will say my definition is too narrow. The purpose of this post is not so much to argue for the Christian view as to define it. This is just a brief snapshot of Christian orthodoxy. I will go more in depth in future posts.
First of all, Christians believe that God exists. More specifically, Christians believe in a theistic God who created the universe from nothing, and transcends His creation. Christians do not believe in a pantheistic god who is identical with the universe, or a panentheistic god who is somehow "in" all His creation. Christians believe in a perfectly good and loving God, who rewards those who seek Him.
Second of all, Christians believe in a triune God who is one God in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Third, Christians believe in Jesus Christ. That is, they do not simply believe He existed as a historical figure, but is God in the flesh, the Son, who was miraculously conceived of the Holy Spirit in a virgin named Mary. He is truly God and truly man--not a demigod, not just divine, and not just human. His primary mission was to die sacrificially as an offering for the sin of all humanity, and He was able to do this because He lived a sinless life. He was crucified, buried, and rose again on the third day.After His resurrection He ascended to the right hand of the Father and will return one day in glory to judge all people vanquish evil once and for all.
Fourth, Christians believe salvation is by the grace of God alone, received by faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Christians believe that forgiveness of sin cannot be earned by good deeds, but can only be removed by God's unmerited favor, called grace. Grace is received freely by those who trust in Jesus Christ, because He died sacrificially on our behalf and rose from the dead. This trust in Jesus is called faith. No other person in history could have served as an unblemished sacrifice for human sin, so salvation is through Him only.
Fifth, Christians believe that the Bible is a reliable source of revelation from God. I do not say it is essential that all Christians believe the Bible is inerrant (although personally, I do believe it is). However, if a professing Christian believes the Bible is not even generally reliable, one would wonder on what basis such a "Christian" would believe other essential Christian doctrines?
Any deviation from these essentials is a deviation from Christianity. I do not say that deviations from orthodoxy necessarily bar anyone from salvation. The basis of salvation is faith in Jesus, not particular doctrines about Him. However, heterodoxy may be an indication that one has placed faith in something other than the Christian God--an idol.
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. - 1 Timothy 4:16
As I said, I am not going to argue for the truth of these classical Christian doctrines here, but I will will argue for each of them in later posts.
